Michael William Walshe's Obituary
Michael William Walshe of Delray Beach, Florida passed away on Tuesday, April 13, 2021 after a long battle with Parkinson's Disease. He is survived by his wife, Estelle Walshe, his daughters Dalia Goby and Shushannah Walshe Yasgur, his sons in law Adam Goby and Ari Yasgur, his grandchildren Isaac and Dylan Goby, and Bess, Naomi, and Gabriel Yasgur. He is also survived by his sister Tina Gallagher and brother Frank Walshe. He is predeceased by his parents Martina and Joe Walshe and his brother Graham Walshe.
Mick, as he was known, was born in Lancashire, England on October 8, 1940. Although he was born in England, he lived with his grandmother in Ireland as a young child. He was always proud of his Irish roots and his Celtic heritage played a massive role in his life. He also identified closely as a Londoner and was an expert at Cockney rhyming slang. He met Estelle Fish at a flower show in Shrewsbury, England. They were both demonstrating different products, careers that would take them all over the world together. They married in London on October 25, 1974. They moved to America on July 4, 1976 first settling in Warwick, Rhode Island where Shushannah was born before moving to Delray Beach where Dalia was born and they raised their family.
Mick was always a visionary in business. He began his career demonstrating products in England, but became one of the first people to bring that business to television in the United States with his company Sales Magic. As one of the original pioneers of the infomercial business, he was a groundbreaking self made entrepreneur in the field. He is also the original creator of the Ginsu Knife and said throughout his life he was the first to coin the famous as seen on tv phrase, “But wait, there’s more!”
This was only part of his legendary career, also opening up the Historical Research Center in 1988. HRC, the family name history and genealogy business with franchises around the world, has provided families with links to their past and countless family name histories and coats of arms have been sold. In 2012, Mick even sought to share his business secrets writing “One Idea Can Make $1,000,000: Building a TV products fortune is easier than you think.”
His passion for Ireland connected him to the Irish Cultural Institute in South Florida. Mick was an instrumental part of their annual St. Patrick’s Day fair starting with the first one in 1986 and continuing for 30 more years. You would always find him helping out on the stage with the musicians and pumping up the crowd as the spectacular MC.
Mick was a lover of music, especially the Rolling Stones, Beatles, The Who, as well as Irish music like The Wolfe Tones. He was a world traveler and an early adopter to the newest technologies, but he loved spending time with his grandchildren the most.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Helping to raise money for much needed research to help find a cure for Parkinson's Disease. Funeral services will be held Friday, April 16th at 11AM at Beth Israel Memorial Chapel followed by burial at the Eternal Light Memorial Gardens.
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